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Weird Al, also known as Alfred Yankovic, was your average, nerdy high school kid who had a part-time job in high school as an accordion teacher and got straight A's. In fact, Weird Al was also valedictorian of his high school class. As a kid who was good in math, but also had a creative streak, his counselor advised him to go into architecture in high school. But halfway through college, he realized that he wasn't really that good at it. What he really enjoyed, however, was working for his college radio station, where he had a shift as a DJ. That's actually how his moniker, Weird Al, came about—for his weird taste in music. Throughout college, Weird Al recorded comedy songs and sent them to a nationally syndicated radio show host, Dr. Demento. The comedic DJ found a certain charm in his songs and decided to release two of Weird Al's singles: "My Bologna" and "Another one rides the bus." By the time Weird Al graduated from college, and earned his degree in architecture, he had a small following. But after graduating, Weird Al knew he wasn't going to use his degree in architecture and decided to give the music business a shot. Two years later, and after going to record company after record company, Weird Al received an offer from Scotti Bros. Records. Since then, Weird Al has parodied hundreds of famous artists (from Nirvana to Queen), won a handle of Grammys, and sold more than 12 million albums.